[ Mekong ASEAN ] Applying blockchain technology to goods identification: the TrueOrigin chip label is expected to put an end to counterfeiting,

By applying blockchain technology to goods identification, the TrueOrigin chip label of Onyx Vietnam is expected to put an end to counterfeit and imitation goods, protecting the rights of Vietnamese consumers.

The problem of counterfeit and imitation goods is growing in Vietnam due to exploitation of supply chain gaps and rising demand for goods. This leaves negative consequences for society, affecting consumers' health and finances as well as the transparency of the goods market, and reducing the credibility of honest manufacturers and traders.

In response to Vietnam Consumer Rights Day (March 15), whose 2023 theme is "Transparent information - Safe consumption", Mekong ASEAN spoke with Mr. Trần Đình Ngọc, CEO of Onyx Vietnam, and Mr. Nguyễn Khương Tuấn, founder and CTO of Onyx Vietnam, about the TrueOrigin anti-counterfeit label technology solution.

Mekong ASEAN: Anti-counterfeiting technology solutions are appearing on the market. So how is Onyx Vietnam's solution different from other products?

Mr. Nguyễn Khương Tuấn: Counterfeit and imitation goods are not just Vietnam's story but have become a global story. Consumers usually lack the skills or specialized tools to distinguish genuine goods from counterfeits quickly and accurately.

Today the market has many goods identification label technologies, including: printing technology (QR Code, Hologram); one-time scratch-code labels; anti-counterfeit labels with digital authentication codes; and 32-bit password chip labels.

However, the above products share the drawback of operating on the old principle: fixed information on the label. Therefore, once released to the market, the protection codes do not change, making them easy to copy.

For example, Hologram labels can resist counterfeiting, but only an expert with specialized tools can tell them apart. QR Code labels can identify goods, but they are also very easy to copy. So the problem here is anti-counterfeit labels themselves being counterfeited.

To solve the above problem, Onyx proposes a counterfeit detection method that combines a blockchain system storing historical event trace information with chip-label technology, briefly called the chip-blockchain label.

On that basis, Onyx Vietnam introduced a type of anti-counterfeit label containing continuously changing code information called TrueOrigin, using the company's proprietary core iSeal technology. This blockchain chip label has a continuously changing digital signature that is recorded back on the label after every event.

This solution can automatically detect a copied label with a single terminal device, without needing an expert. Therefore, everyone, with or without expertise, can easily check.

Previous anti-counterfeiting technologies could only read information one-way, so when labels were cloned, the system had no way to detect whether they had been copied; bad actors would exploit this to counterfeit.

"The difference of iSeal technology lies in the two-way interaction of the label. Besides having a static ID (identification index), inside there is a digital signature that is always changing. This means the code information always changes after each authentication scan. That helps us detect and prevent the copying and counterfeiting of the label. If a unit deliberately copies it, the information is immediately reported to Onyx Vietnam, the authorities, the manufacturer, and consumers".

Mr. Nguyễn Khương Tuấn, founder and CTO of Onyx Vietnam.

TrueOrigin was created with 3 criteria: first, can the label resist counterfeiting on its own; next, can the label be checked many times; finally, is the label electronic, so we can add more value on top of it.

Having met the criteria of novelty, feasibility, and creativity, the iSeal goods identification label has been granted patents domestically and internationally. In 2021, iSeal helped Onyx Vietnam receive the prestigious Sao Khuê award in the category: New technology solutions.

Mekong ASEAN: Could you share more about how the TrueOrigin solution is used? Which fields have applied it?

Mr. Trần Đình Ngọc: Consumers use their smartphones to authenticate information on the product. Customers just install the TrueOrigin app and hold the phone close to the label printed on the product they want to check.

The smartphone sends the information to the authentication unit, comprising the authorities and the manufacturer, for consensus and to stamp that blockchain through the iSeal system. After cross-checking and verification, all product information is displayed on the user's phone in less than a second.

TrueOrigin is now available on both iOS and Android operating systems, so everyone can easily access this free app.

TrueOrigin has a very wide scope of application, from protecting the origins of goods and brands to Access Control systems (entry and exit control systems) and high-value documents such as degrees, certificates, and land-use right certificates…

For example, with Access Control, we have deployed it in obstetrics and pediatrics hospitals and mother-and-child care hospitals to prevent bad actors from infiltrating hospitals to swap or kidnap babies.

Mekong ASEAN: Consumer protection is a matter of great concern in Vietnam today. As a technology company, how can Onyx Vietnam ensure consumer rights through the TrueOrigin app?

Mr. Nguyễn Khương Tuấn: When researching this blockchain chip label, Onyx Vietnam set out 3 missions: protecting consumers, protecting manufacturers, and providing maximum support to market surveillance authorities.

For consumers, TrueOrigin protects their rights through the "non-repudiation" property: if a poor-quality product appears, the manufacturer must take responsibility. In this situation, the blockchain chip label stands on the consumer's side.

In particular, with the high security of the core iSeal technology, the e-commerce market will grow further through consumers proactively checking goods they have ordered online.

Not stopping there, TrueOrigin also protects manufacturers' brands with the "anti-copy" property. Every issued label is unique; no one can counterfeit or copy it.

Applying blockchain in the fight against counterfeit and imitation goods will help businesses increase sales and reduce revenue losses as the volume of counterfeits falls. The distribution system also becomes more reliable: instead of carefully selecting distributors and agents with many criteria, with blockchain the information system is transparent and distributors are managed better.

At the same time, by using a blockchain-based information system, businesses will receive market reports almost instantly at any time, while the sales and distribution process remains nearly unchanged.

The representative of Onyx Vietnam also revealed that the pricing for businesses is still subsidized to cover relatively many product categories on the market.

In addition, when goods are identified and authenticated, management and inspection become more convenient for the authorities.

Mekong ASEAN: In the future, does Onyx Vietnam plan to expand the application to more fields? If so, please share more about the company's upcoming goals and plans.

Mr. Nguyễn Khương Tuấn: This is a new solution; we have registered it for worldwide patent protection with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and it has been examined by the European Patent Office (EPO).

We are expanding commercial partnerships to bring the anti-counterfeit label product and iSeal authentication technology to domestic and international markets, and we will also cooperate on technology transfer.

In the coming time, Onyx Vietnam will expand into logistics to integrate with the TrueOrigin solution to track goods on their delivery journeys. Alongside that, it will develop a distributor management feature. A manufacturer may have many different distributors, so tracking where goods appear on the market, where they are stored, or how fast each region consumes a product will be a useful source of information for businesses to plan their future production.

In another development, Onyx Vietnam will focus on developing an online marketplace where only genuine products with complete origins are sold, in the more distant future.

Mekong ASEAN: Thank you for sharing!

Hà Anh

See the original article on Mekong ASEAN here: https://mekongasean.vn/onyx-viet-nam-post18997.html